Forbidden Fruit
by ChaoticIrony
Summary: He eyed the bottle she was clasping appraisingly. “A woman after my own heart!” He grinned broadly at her as he placed his hand on her shoulder and began directing her back towards Tsunade’s desk. JiraSaku & Slight KakaSaku. See inside for more details.
1. A Series of Unfortunate Events

**A/N: Well, here it is, my first JiraSaku. And it is turning into the world's longest one-shot haha. Actually it was so long I had to break it into two parts so here is part one.**

**As I said it is a JiraSaku with just a little wee bit of KakaSaku. It is not supposed to be a joke pairing, I seriously like this couple and I wanted to write a realistic fic about them, so I hope you enjoy.**

**And if you enjoy it PLEASE do review, because I honestly am not expecting much response for this because it is a very unappreciated pairing, and I would love to hear from anyone who does enjoy it.**

**Also, all Naruto characters within belong to Masashi Kishimoto.**

**Now on with the story.**

* * *

**Part One - A Series of Unfortunate Events**

The burning Konoha sun hung low in the purple-blue sky.

A warm summer breeze lazily stroked the dust covered stone walls of houses that lined the narrow streets, and tickled the faces of laughing children as they raced to their mother's call for supper. The humble cottages in the distance shimmered in the heat waves still rising off the baking earth, and the red-orange light of the dying day blanketed the village below in an iridescent glow.

High on the earthen cliffs surrounding one side of the serene town, five immense stone faces watched over the citizens below, as they had all once done from the regal tower at the cliff's base - some long ago, some in times more recent. And as four of those five would never do again, though their spirits lived on high above, smiling down fondly and proudly over their progeny below.

Bordering the other side of the modest village was a vast expanse of the living green giants which gave the oasis town its name, 'the village hidden in the leaves'. And it was surely that, for the mass of abundant perennials nearly engulfed the hidden sanctuary, like an enormous lake of viridian green, undulating in the gentle breeze.

Suddenly, some of the great trees broke out of their gentle dance, as a strong gale forced its way through their masses and bucked and swayed their boughs. It broke free of the forest with a gasp and raced toward the village below, collecting dust and leaves on the way and carrying them with it on its back as it skimmed the ochre streets. It sent hanging clothes and curtains in a flurry as it raced past uncaring, then abruptly halted as it reached the cliffs, as half threw itself up the surface of the faces carved there and over the top, carrying on to places unknown; and the other half washed against the giant glass expanse of the window that dominated the upper portion of the great Hokage tower, where a tiny pink-crowned figure stood, peering out over the village below.

Sakura sighed with relief as she pressed her tired forehead to the cool glass that looked out over her peaceful town.

It had been a long day.

She had completed many long and taxing shifts at the hospital, and been sent on even more physically demanding, dangerous and lengthy missions in her twenty-two years, but this was something completely different.

She reluctantly pulled her face away from the glass, missing its soothing coolness against her skin almost immediately, and turned back to face the large, sparsely decorated room which was to be her temporary office for the next few days.

Her fiery shishou, and fifth Hokage of the proud shinobi village spread out beneath her, had been sent by the elders on official state business with their sister village Suna. It was a rare occurrence for any Hokage to leave their village and, understandably, Tsunade couldn't have got out of there quickly enough.

In fact, she had left a whole day early, giving the excuse that she wanted to make sure she got there in plenty of time as she wouldn't want to insult their allies by being late, and even stooping so low as to admit (very quietly, and only to Sakura of course) that she wasn't getting any younger and that she couldn't quite move like she used to you know. Sakura baulked at that, and, knowing how difficult it must have been for her shishou to admit _anything_ detrimental about her true age - even if she _was_ only trying to wile her way out of an extra day of work and probably only going early to get drunk anyway - was too stunned to protest and just let her leave.

So now, as the officially appointed Vice-Hokage, Sakura was in charge.

And she could never have been prepared for how difficult it was going to be.

She had spent the majority of her first day, as she frantically poured over scrolls and official looking documents, and debated how best to assign the 200 or so ninja that resided in the village to each and every mission that continued to pile higher and higher on her desk no matter how quickly she got through them, trying to figure out how the _hell_ her lazy drunk of a sensei managed to do it.

She certainly couldn't figure out why on earth Naruto would ever want to do this full time, she had a feeling that if he knew the true extent of the Hokage's responsibilities he wouldn't be quite so keen. However it was inevitable that he was to eventually shoulder the immense responsibility one day, as after all these years Tsunade still held a soft spot for the loveable lout, who had impressed her all those years ago with his determined and unwavering spirit, when he and his then new sensei Jiraiya had tracked her down to offer her the position herself.

Sakura knew already that Tsunade had decided finally to make Naruto's lifelong dream come true and offer him the job as her successor, she was just waiting for the right time to announce it, and taking things slowly to gauge the possible reactions from the village elders at her proclaiming the vessel for the demon kyuubi - which had once threatened all that their village held dear - as their sixth Hokage.

Sakura was not in the least jealous and on the contrary was ecstatic for her long time friend. She had had many late night discussions with her shishou about her decision, as Tsunade had been adamant about offering Sakura the position first - since she had come to think of her as a surrogate daughter, and knew that her highly gifted apprentice who was so like herself would do the job justice - but Sakura had politely declined.

She had been given the job of Vice-Hokage because she knew the day to day runnings of the hospital and the Hokage's Administration inside out; as she was already head-medic and worked closely with Tsunade day in and out, and could therefore take over the role swiftly at a moment's notice without much ado.

But that was the extent of how far she was willing to go. She did not want the position of Hokage, and this one day's glimpse into the responsibilities of the title just solidified her decision. Naruto could have the job, and he was welcome to it.

She smiled fondly thinking of her excitable best friend. The past ten years of trials and tribulations, and the heavy burden of the loses of comrades, including his beloved first sensei Iruka who had been killed in the great ninja war of four years ago, had not faded his undying determination in the face of any adversity.

Even after their dear wayward friend and ex-team mate, whom they had tried so hard and for so many long years to bring back to his home safely, had fallen to his own fanatical desire for revenge in an all out battle with his psychotic older brother that had left both of them dead - thus ending the long and proud existence of the Uchiha clan – Naruto had somehow managed to pick himself up again. It had taken many months for both of them to get over the initial shock of course, and many a fond memory had been drowned at the bottom of a bottle of sake, but eventually with a lot of help from each other they had pulled themselves out of their intense depression, and had grown closer than ever to each other as a result.

She didn't get to see an awful lot of him these days though. He had progressed through the ranks of course, as had she, they had both finally made jounin, but while her skills and intelligence had kept her in the hospital and always close to home, the enormous power of the kyuubi inside of him combined with his determination in battle had seen him join the ANBU ranks, and meant he now spent a longer portion of his time away from Konoha on one mission or another.

And so it was that Sakura now felt quite alone in the world. Her parents had both been gone for some time now, and although she had many people - mostly other shinobi - that she considered friends, her long hours at the hospital meant that she didn't have a lot of time for socializing, and most days ended up just crashing out at her apartment after another exhausting day's work.

Which was exactly what she intended to do this evening. Her mood improved a little as she thought of sinking into a nice warm bubble bath and enjoying the small pleasure of a much deserved, not to mention _large_ glass of red wine, and soaking the days worries away.

Unfortunately, judging by the still intimidating looking pile on her provisional desk, that wasn't about to happen any time soon.

She walked over to the large mirror that hung on the far wall. Sakura smirked as she remembered vividly the day Tsunade had moved in to the office and had insisted that the enormous looking-glass be hung immediately, by a very nervous looking Kotetsu and his ever present comrade Izumo. For all of her admirable qualities her shishou had one major flaw; she was _incredibly_ vain - as was highlighted by the fact that she was in her mid fifties (no one but the fifth herself knew her exact age) and still didn't look a day older than twenty.

Sakura looked herself wearily over in the reflective glass. She was wearing a pale green yukata almost identical to the one Tsunade usually wore. Of course hers was distinctly smaller in the bust region, but Sakura was more than happy about that. Tsunade had had it made for her to her own measurements before she left, saying that she couldn't wear her usual medic uniform if she was going to be doing the duties of the Hokage. Sakura didn't mind, she found it quite comfortable actually, and wondered if she should get a few more made for her. The pale green went rather nicely with her pink hair. Not that she would have many occasions to wear one though.

Her long hair was all tied up in a high ponytail except for a few pale pink tresses which hung down either side framing her face. Where the ponytail was secured close to her head with a hair band was aching from the pressure of being bound tightly all day, and she tugged the tie from her hair, ruffled her hands through her silky locks and rubbed at her tired scalp.

She brought her hands out of her hair and dragged them down the sides of her face as she stared at her complexion in the mirror. Her naturally pale skin looked more pallid than usual and her face was drawn and tired looking. Her usually bright jade eyes were dulled and cloudy with fatigue.

She turned away from her unpleasing reflection, and walked back over to her temporary desk. She flopped herself down into her shishou's comfortable leather chair, closed her eyes and, with her elbows resting on their respective arm rests raised her hands to her pounding head and pressed her fingertips to her temples, allowing soothing green chakra to flow through them to relieve her over-worked brain.

She rested like that for a few minutes, allowing herself to recharge before she tackled her next task, and found that she could very easily just stay like that forever. In fact, she suddenly felt her head beginning to fall forward on to her chest and the blackness of sleep closing in around her as her fatigued body fought to shut her down to get the rest that it needed.

She had just finished arguing with herself that it would be ok to just rest here for a few moments, when a loud thud jolted her out of her tranquil state, and her head shot up and jade eyes snapped open to see through her sleep hazed vision an orange-clad blur tumbling into a crumpled heap on the floor at the foot of the now open side window.

"Owwww . . ."

She blinked hard several times before the prone figure of her now grumbling best friend came into focus. She rushed over to his side.

"Naruto! What on earth . . .?" She trailed off as she reached down to help haul him to his feet.

Naruto stood shakily, rubbing furiously at his now swelling forehead. "Sorry Sakura-chan. I was in such a hurry to get here . . . not much chakra left . . . exhausted . . . thought it was open . . . ahhghhh . . stupid window . . ."

He turned around and kicked the window closed angrily.

Sakura just shook her head and smiled at him incredulously. "How is it that after all these years you are still as much of a klutz as you were when we were twelve, hmm?" She crossed her arms over her chest and raised one eyebrow at him.

Naruto sheepishly scratched the back of his head and grinned at her endearingly.

"Eheh . . . It's not my fault! Honestly, that bloody Kakashi . . . he bet me three bottles of sake that he could get back to Konoha before me . . . and you know I can't turn down a challenge like that Sakura, well-"

"-So you agreed to it?"

"Yeah . . ."

"Naruto!"

She smacked him hard on the side of his head. "Missions are not the time for stupid bets between you and Kakashi! I swear to Kami you are getting as bad as Tsunade with your stupid gambles Naruto! I should beat the two of you to a bloody pulp for being so irresponsible, and, and, so reckless!"

Naruto cowered before her with his eyes clenched shut, fully expecting the beating that he had endured so many times before from his feisty team mate.

Sakura's face softened as she saw her friend flinching in front her. She reneged. "Well . . . I won't. _This_ time."

He hesitantly opened his eyes to see her standing there looking at him with a cheeky grin on her face, her eyes full of warmth.

"Come here, you." She reached forward and pulled him into her embrace.

Naruto relaxed when he realized she wasn't going to hit him, and he squeezed her tightly, raising her tiny frame off the floor a little as he did so. "Oh, thank Kami for that. 'Cos I'm _exhausted_ and I don't think I could handle any more of your beatings."

She giggled, and pressed her face into his broad shoulder and breathed in his familiar scent. "How have you been?" She spoke into his neck.

"Better now that I've seen you. How 'bout you?"

"Me too." She squeezed him more tightly. "I've missed you."

"Yeah, me too," he said quietly. "It's not fair we get to see so little of each other now."

"Hah! Don't worry, it won't be long before your dream will come true and you'll be Hokage. And then you'll see so much of me you'll be absolutely sick of the sight of me."

He set her back down on the floor and took a step back so that he could look at her properly. "I could never get sick of the sight of you." He looked at her intensely and she saw his face was set with seriousness.

She blushed, then smiled shyly and looked away. He had never admitted it to her, but she had a feeling his childhood crush on her had not faded with time as she had expected it to.

He reached up and gently brushed a silky strand of her pink hair back behind her ear. "Are you ok?" He considered her tired features as she looked back up at him. "You look pretty exhausted yourself."

She sighed. "Yeah, I'll be fine. I think I'm gonna call it a day soon anyway."

"Good. You work too hard Sakura-chan." He scolded her, as an idea came to him. "Hey, I'm having a few post-mission drinks with some of the Rookies tonight. You should come join us. It'd do you good to get out and socialise a bit."

Sakura smiled fondly at how they still referred to the old rookie nine as the "Rookies" after all these years, but then cringed inwardly as she realized from his last comment how painfully obvious her lack of a life must be to everyone she knew. "Oh, I don't know, Naruto, I kind of just want to go home to bed . . . it really has been a hell of a day."

"Oh come on Sakura-chan! We're going out to that new club that's opened just down from Ichiraku. It's the grand opening tonight so it'll be packed out, plenty of fresh young chuunin to feast your eyes on." He wiggled his eyebrows up and down suggestively.

"You mean plenty of fresh young _kunoichi_ for _you_ to feast your eyes on!" She emphasised by prodding him in the chest with her forefinger.

"Hey! Well sorry, can I help it if they're all drawn like moths to the flame to the future, amazingly-powerful, not to mention incredibly handsome sixth Hokage?" He smirked at her and she thought to herself, not for the first time, how true his little description of himself really was. Not that she would ever risk inflating his already swelling ego further by admitting that to him of course.

"Come on," He pleaded. "Say you'll come."

She thought for a moment to herself. She probably could use a few good stiff drinks after her taxing day, but the thought of going out on the town sort of turned her stomach.

She used to enjoy going out and having a few drinks and a dance, but that quickly got old when she realised that it always ended the same way. They would go out, and she would _just_ be getting tipsy and relaxing and starting to have fun, when she would start getting hit on by every young, available (and some decidedly _un_available) guy in the vicinity.

At first she enjoyed all the attention. She did get rather lonely, and despite some people's opinions she craved physical intimacy as much as the next woman, so when she came across a man who seemed perfectly acceptable in every sense, she would ultimately end up back at his apartment or hers, with the intention of quenching that burning desire that had begun to nest within her.

But that was when the disappointment hit home. No matter how drunk she got, and no matter how heart-stoppingly gorgeous the man that she found herself with was, she had never found someone who could satisfy her. Never found someone who could make her ache with need from the top of her head all the way down to the very tips of her toes. Never found someone who could bring her to the brink of desire and then topple her head first over the edge.

She had never had an orgasm.

It had finally gotten to the point where she had had so many disappointing experiences that she had just given up trying. Yes, she was sick of the likes of Ino and Tenten going on and on about their latest amazing sexual escapades, and she diligently smiled and smirked and nodded in all the right places, and when they said, "You know what I'm talking about" she said, yes, she knew . . . but she really had absolutely no idea what they were talking about or just what _was_ so damn wonderful about it.

So she had decided to put her heart and soul into her work, and, after night after lonely night with only herself for company had finally managed to convince herself that it was never going to happen for her and she wasn't really missing out on much anyway.

Still, some days she would walk through the streets and it seemed that everywhere she looked were couples holding hands, wives kissing their husbands goodbye as they left for work, or young lovers embracing in what they thought was a dark unnoticed corner, and she felt that pang of loneliness once again.

Sometimes it was almost enough to make her want to accept one of the numerous offers - from the few young men that she _had_ been with - to start a relationship, and she would just have to bite the bullet and put up with the hurried, sometimes painful fumblings of inexperienced hands and mostly selfish intentions.

But no. She _refused_ to settle for second best. She had grown into a proud young woman, and she would be damned if she would sacrifice that hard won pride for just the comfort of a man to call her own. She would rather die an old spinster than allow that to happen.

She offered her own consolation by telling herself that she didn't need a man to feel fulfilled. She wasn't like Ino. She didn't need some _male_ to feel complete.

And besides, if she ever needed sexual satisfaction, she could always do it herself.

As her energetic best friend looked pleadingly at her in anticipation of her answer, she already knew what that would be. The answer was always the same.

"I'm sorry Naruto, not tonight." She saw the disappointment cross his face and she felt the need to offer an acceptable excuse, other than the fact that she 'just didn't want to'. "You know, I really _should_ stay and get the rest of this paperwork done for Tsunade. It _is_ my responsibility you know." Lies. She had absolutely no intention of staying.

Naruto's face fell, and she felt a small stone of guilt drop into her stomach. "But, I'll meet you for breakfast tomorrow morning, and we can catch up then, how's that?" She quickly added, wanting to see that sunny smile on his face once again.

He beamed at her. The guilt stone dissolved.

"Ok Sakura-chan! Better make it 10 o'clock though, because I _know_ it's gonna be a rough night." He smirked at her slyly.

She rolled her eyes and turned to move back towards the crowded desk. "I'll see you at Ichiraku at ten then." She raised her hand in a stationary wave goodbye as Naruto moved back out of the same window he had collided with earlier.

"How did you guess!" She heard him yell back as he took off into the rapidly darkening evening.

Sakura walked around to the back of the large desk that sat before the main window overlooking her village and sighed loudly now that she was alone again. She flopped back down into her shishou's comfortable chair.

She eyed the intimidating pile of scrolls on the desk before her.

_Well, might as well get __at least _some_ of this done before I go_.

On impulse she closed her eyes and thrust her hand forward into the large heap waiting to be dealt with. She felt around for a while then grasped hold of the thinnest scroll she could find. Hopefully it would be a minor issue that could be dealt with swiftly. As in, with as little effort from her as possible.

She was beginning to see why her shishou tried to skive off constantly.

She opened her eyes and tugged open the scroll that she had plucked. Her keen jade eyes skimmed over the contents within.

_Request for __the assistance of Konoha shinobi from __Daimyo Haruna of the Vegetable Country_

_Mission Rank: Expected to be C Rank, possibly up to A Rank but unlikely._

_No. of Shinobi Required: 2. One Shinobi & accompanying Medic-nin._

_Likely Duration of Mission: One week exactly. Required only for the period of the Flower Festival._

_Mission Objectives:_

_Shinobi are required to spend the week at the Daimyo's Palace to offer bodyguard services to the Daimyo Haruna during the period of the Annual Flower Festival. Confrontation is unlikely, however as the Daimyo is exposed to the public for the entirety of the Festival and many foreign citizens will be present, preventative security measures are necessary. Shinobi are required to escort the Daimyo from her quarters each morning, protect the Daimyo at all times during the day's festivities then return the Daimyo safely to her room each night where the Daimyo's own guards shall keep the night watch, at which time the Konoha Shinobi shall be on call. Shinobi quarters shall be located in a close vicinity of the . . . _yadayadayada_ . . . required to report any security weaknesses . . . _blah blah blah_ . . ._

"Jeez, where _will_ I find a shinobi who wants to take on such a holiday mission?" She mused aloud.

"I'll take it."

Sakura squeaked in fright and her heart leapt in her chest as the smooth deep voice broke into her thoughts, and she spun around gasping and clutching her chest with the shock she had been given.

"Kakashi!" She stared up at her enigmatic ex-sensei, and she could see him smirking beneath his mask in amusement at her distress.

"What the _hell_ do you think you're doing?!" she screeched at him as she saw the same window that Naruto had come through now swung wide open out of the corner of her eye. "Don't sneak up on people like that - you could've given me a heart attack!"

He chuckled quietly. "I'm sorry Sakura, but I thought I taught you to be a bit more perceptive than that," He stated in his usual slow, nonchalant manner, "I'm ashamed of my own teaching if you can't even detect a slow old man like me."

She snorted. "You? Slow? Yeah right. I won't argue with the old part though."

"Hey!" He feigned offence.

"You said it."

"Yeah, but you're _supposed_ to stick up for your old sensei. After all those years of me being so good to you-"

"-Good to me?! You've got to be joking Kakashi. You basically ignored me the _entire_ time!"

For some reason she couldn't fathom, Kakashi seemed hurt by her accusation.

He frowned slightly. "I didn't ignore you. It's just that you were my only _normal_ student and you didn't need as much help." She saw him break into a cloth-covered grin. "I mean, come on, with the stress that Naruto and Sasuke were constantly causing me you were a sweet little blessing."

He gave her that familiar old eye-crinkle and she blushed slightly at his words. "Oh yeah? Nice save, Kakashi."

He raised an eyebrow at her and she suddenly got the feeling that he was scheming something. "Well, I know how I can make it up to you."

She narrowed her jade eyes at him questioningly. "Hn. How's that?"

"Well you see I've just been given this _great_ mission in the Vegetable Country," Her shoulders relaxed and she looked at him at him impatiently with an unimpressed look on her face, "And I know the perfect sexy little pink-haired medic to take with me," She blushed again more fiercely and averted her eyes as he continued, "And I thought, with it being such an easy mission and all, why not mix a little business with pleasure have some fun at the same time?"

He had backed her against the desk as he spoke, and he now stood as close to her as he could get without actually touching her, with one hand planted on either side of her grasping the ledge of the desk.

Her mouth suddenly felt very dry, and her heart was hammering like a drill. She felt a strange tingle run through her body at having him so close, and speaking to her in that way. His voice was husky and low, and her stomach did flip flops when he spoke.

She already knew that he was only playing with her. This wasn't the first time he had spoken to her like this. They had become very close through all they had been through, and they were equals now, she was almost as close to him as she was to Naruto. In some ways more. And if they _were_ to have a sexual relationship with one another no one would even bat an eyelid at them, they were both Jounin now, and since the war many of the old-fashioned ways of thinking had fallen by the wayside. Not to mention almost all of the Elders were gone now, and those who weren't were not far off. Tsunade was pretty much the be all and end all when it came to Konoha Law now, and everyone knew how liberal _she_ was.

Still, she knew – at least in her own mind anyway – that that could _never_ happen. It wasn't that she didn't think people would approve, or that Kakashi wouldn't want to (on the contrary, she had a feeling he would be more than happy to oblige), but she just couldn't get past the fact that he was once her sensei and he had known her since she was twelve and had been almost like a surrogate father to them all. Ok, so he wasn't quite old enough to feasibly be her father, but for some reason it still gave her the creeps to even consider having sex with Kakashi.

Not that she didn't think it would be good. Quite the opposite in fact. She knew that under that mask he was hiding the most knee-quiveringly gorgeous face she had ever seen in her life. She knew this because a few years ago they had gone on a mission together to deliver an important scroll to the Kazekage Gaara in Suna, and that night they had both gotten fall-down drunk in the local bar with Kankurou. Kakashi had really let himself go and eventually passed out in the hallway on the way back to their rooms. Of course he had forgotten that as a medic, Sakura had the ability to purge the alcohol from her system before the same happened to her, and so she had carried him the rest of the way and had been kindly tucking him into his bed when she had been overcome with the overwhelming desire to pull down his mask and finally get a look at the mysterious face that her team had made such a big deal over when they were younger.

So she did it.

When she pulled the last of the material down over his chin and had finally got a look at his face in its entirety for the first time she had almost passed out herself. She could now see why he hid it all the time. You could cause a lot of accidents with a face like that.

But she knew it wasn't only his looks that made her feel hot and explosive when he spoke to her in the manner which he was right now. Most of it was his maturity. He had seen so much more than her, lived much more life than her, and she couldn't help thinking that if she _was_ to ever sleep with him, that he would make the boys that she had slept with seem like bumbling halfwits. It would be like comparing Egyptian silk and nylon.

Thinking along those lines she suddenly became very flustered at the position in which they were both standing right now, and her body's natural reaction was to turn away from him before she began blushing like a virgin in front of his intense gaze.

Of course, she didn't think her move through fully, and if she had she would have realised immediately that it was not her best idea.

For when she turned inside the circle of his arms to face the desk again her pert behind dragged inadvertently against the front of his trousers, and because of his proximity remained pressed firmly against his crotch when she stopped. Poor Kakashi couldn't help but let out a poorly-suppressed groan from the depths of his throat, and she heard it, no matter how hard he tried to hide it.

She blushed furiously and her whole face cringed up in humiliation as she simultaneously heard his sound of desire and realised in one horrific moment that he was desperately trying to prevent his rapidly approaching erection.

She was mortified.

But it was too late now. The damage had been done and she desperately looked for a way to cover up her embarrassment at the situation, and to not let on to Kakashi that she was really still just a naïve young woman who was in over her head.

She decided her best bet was to play along, and to pretend that it had been her intention all along to toy with him like this. She pressed herself harder against him and turned her face to the side to look back at him from hooded eyes beneath smouldering lashes.

"So, you want that mission do you?" She purred at him huskily. "And just what are you going to do for me in exchange?"

She almost laughed out loud and broke her façade as she saw his eyes widen and his prominent larynx bob up and down beneath his mask as he swallowed.

Within seconds though the small look of surprise had vanished and he had regained his usual arrogant confidence. There seemed something darker in his eyes now though, and although she wasn't sure what it was, it frightened her.

"What do you _want_ me to do for you, Sakura?" His voice was thick and laced with intent.

Sakura's heart beat frantically in her chest. This had gone far enough. She needed to stop this before she really _did_ get out of her depth.

She spun around quickly and pushed him back away from her with her hands on his chest. The surprise returned to his face as he saw her expression harden into her customary 'scolding face', and he suddenly knew he was in for a telling off of some description.

"You could start by giving me the three bottles of sake you bet Naruto for racing you back to Konoha!"

He cringed. So that big-mouthed idiot had been here already.

"Yes, Kakashi, he was here not 10 minutes ago telling me all about your little bet. So I guess you lost huh?"

"Actually I've been back for half an hour. But this huge bird flew down in my path and-"

"Oh shut up. Don't you think I've heard enough of your lame excuses over the years to know how full of shit you are? I bet you were just sitting under some tree reading Icha Icha."

He smiled. She knew him too well.

"Of course I was. I waited just inside the gates so I could rub it in Naruto's face when he finally got here, but the dobe must have crossed the wall somewhere else."

"Well, I guess it won't cost you then. You can just hand your winnings straight over to me, and we've got ourselves a deal. You can have the mission."

His one visible eye crinkled as he smiled, and his whole body seemed to relax at the thought of his new assignment, their previous tête-à-tête all but forgotten.

She frowned at him. "What do you want this one so badly for anyway? It's not like you to want to take on such a low-ranked mission."

"Are you kidding? Have you seen the fee they're paying?"

She picked up the scroll from the desk behind her and scanned down the page to where he was now indicating with his finger.

_Mission Fee Payable: 10 Ryo_

Her eyebrows raised in surprise and she looked back up at him.

"Five Ryo each? That's equivalent to two whole weeks doing hard labour. Getting paid that much to read Icha Icha all day in a beautiful, peaceful country on a mission that even a complete moron couldn't screw up is my idea of heaven, thank you very much."

She smiled and shook her head at him incredulously. Trust Kakashi to find a way to get a paid vacation.

"Very well then." She turned to the desk, picked up her pen and wrote Kakashi's name in the first line of the Shinobi Delegation box stamped onto the mission scroll. She then picked up the official seal of the Hokage and stamped it firmly at the bottom, signing her name over it after the ink had dried. She looked back up to the second line where the name of the accompanying medic was required.

"Who do you want to take as your medic?"

"I told you," He grinned at her, "You."

She shook her head at him. "You know I can't. I have no idea how long Tsunade is going to be. Knowing her she'll skive off as long as she can, and I'll still be stuck here with this mess in another week." She indicated to the mountain of scrolls before them. "And your mission starts tomorrow morning."

"Oh." She had a feeling that if she could see under his mask he would be pouting. Then suddenly his eye crinkled again. "Ok, how about that cute little blonde chuunin medic then, you know, the one who wears her skirt a whole three inches higher than-"

"-I don't think so Kakashi." she interrupted sternly. "There's no way in hell I'm sending some poor unsuspecting kunoichi on an easy mission in whole other country - where you will have way too much time on your hands - to be corrupted by the likes of you."

"See, now you're _giving_ me ideas. The thought hadn't even crossed my mind"

"I'm sending a male medic, Kakashi and that's final." She ignored his loud sigh of disapproval. "Now that that's taken care of, aren't you supposed to be giving me your report of your last mission?"

"Well see that's what I came to talk to you about." She narrowed her eyes suspiciously at him and had a good idea of what was coming next. "See, I'm really beat after racing Naruto back and all, and I was wondering if it would be ok if I gave you my report in the morning?" He looked at her pleadingly with one puppy dog eye.

It was her turn to sigh. "Fine. But I want that report before you leave for Vegetable Country, Kakashi." She couldn't be bothered arguing with him anyway.

"Thanks, Sakura. I knew you were my favourite student for a reason." He winked at her.

She snorted cynically as he moved back toward the window. "Yeah, right."

He smiled back at her and raised his hand goodbye as he stepped through the window.

"Tomorrow morning Kakashi, I mean it!" She yelled after him.

She turned back to face the large room shaking her head to herself. She was all at once relieved and disappointed that Kakashi had gone.

What was it about her ex-sensei that made her feel a strange excitement whenever he was around her? As a medic she was more than aware that her heartbeat had been slightly elevated from normal the entire time Kakashi was in her office, and she realised her palms felt sweaty and hot. In fact, as she paid more attention to her physical state, her whole body's temperature was higher than usual.

She tried to block it out of her mind as she turned back to face the desk that was almost buckling with the burgeoning weight of the scrolls atop it.

Her shoulders fell as she looked at it. With all these interruptions there was no way she was going to get through all of this. Kakashi's visit had perked her up a bit though, and she now decided once and for all that she was going to call it a day. She needed a drink to drown out the sick thoughts about her ex-sensei. Badly.

She suddenly remembered that Tsunade had several bottles of various alcoholic beverages stashed around her office for if ever Shizune was being too stingy with the liquor dispensation, which was _very_ frequently. In fact, Sakura knew for certain that there was a bottle of her favourite wine around here somewhere, as she had given it to her shishou one night to hide when she was younger and her father had shown up at her work unexpectedly when she had planned a night out with the girls. Her clueless father had thought that meant a slumber party or something and had come by on her equally clueless mother's insistence with a package to give to Ino's mother. Tsunade had told her later the bottle was stashed in the cupboard somewhere for her, as she wouldn't touch the stuff - not hard enough for her she said - and Sakura had never gotten around to fetching it back.

So . . .

_If I were a bottle of delicious ruby red wine, where would I hide?_

She scanned the room with her hands on her slim hips, and stopped when she saw the large main cupboards on the left side of the room.

_There._

She strode over to the double-door closet, pulled both doors open and began her treasure hunt. She searched over the document strewn shelves in her immediate line of vision briefly before abandoning that and rising on her tiptoes to rummage through the junk lining the highest ledge.

She huffed as her vertically challenged body impeded her search, and she lowered herself back onto the flat of her feet. She looked down at the floor of the closet where several large crap-filled boxes littered the floor. Tsunade was _clearly_ a closet-hoarder. Literally.

She sighed and crouched forward thrusting her head and upper body deep into the dark confines of the spacious closet while her pale-green clad backside poked proudly into the air like a peacock's tail. It bobbed around in the air as she continued her frantic search through the numerous boxes.

She pulled random oddities from the box she was currently occupied with, setting them to the side to reduce the clutter so she could actually _see_ its contents.

_One broken lamp_. Sakura raised an eyebrow and placed it in a half filled box to her left. _One Leo mug with missing handle._ She now raised both eyebrows and laughed. It had a cheesy cartoon picture of a dancing Lion on it. From the looks of it Tsunade had probably thrown it in here when some idiot had given it to her as a birthday present. She chucked it in the box with the lamp. She picked up a crumpled piece of paper and spread it open to see what it was. "Uhh. . ." _One fine from the Konoha Police Station for operating a horse and cart under the influence._ _Unpaid._ She giggled. It looked about ten years old, but nevertheless Sakura placed it on the next shelf up with the other neglected paperwork stashed there. She looked back into the box she was working on which was now decidedly less cluttered.

Her eyebrows knitted together in frustration when she couldn't see a wine bottle amongst the few remains, however . . .

She could see a rather large, shiny silver case at the very bottom of the box. She brushed the scattered playing cards and poker chips from the top of it, and tried to lift it out. She didn't charge her efforts with chakra though and she discovered that whatever it was, it was extremely heavy.

She decided to leave it where it was and instead looked to the front of the case and was pleased to find that the latch was unlocked.

She hauled the lid up and threw it back to fall against the rear of the box.

Her eyes lit up as she revealed the case's secrets.

There before her was Tsunade's own private alcohol stash.

Sakura couldn't believe how much booze was in there, Tsunade had either quit drinking (which she doubted very much) or she was topping this stash up very regularly. She could see several bottles of almost every type of liquor she could imagine. Only the hard stuff though, of course. There must have been about twenty five bottles in total.

And there beneath a very large bottle of gin Sakura could just see a narrow strip of the edge of the familiar label of her favourite bottle of wine.

Her eyes lit up in delight as she stretched forward to pull her bottle from its stuffy confines, and she had just clasped her fingers around the neck and pulled it to the top of the box, when she felt the decidedly _un_familiar feeling of a large hand groping her rear.

Sakura held her breath and froze for half a second as at the same time a husky voice broke through the quiet of the office.

"Hey sexy, how bout we go get drunk and play strip poker?"

Before the full sentence was even out of the perpetrator's mouth however Sakura was letting out a blood curdling scream as her head snapped back up, before her scream was cut off abruptly as she smacked her head hard on the shelf above her.

She spun around now rubbing her head furiously to face two wide surprised eyes plastered on an equally perplexed face surrounded by a shock of white hair.

Her body relaxed as she recognised Naruto's ex-sensei and legendary Toad-Sage, Jiraiya.

The shocked expression didn't leave his face as he looked her over. "You're not Tsunade . . ." He stated slowly in utter confusion as he looked around the office suspiciously.

"Clearly," she spat as she straightened and smoothed down her yukata. Across the room she saw the same window that Naruto and Kakashi had come through flung open yet again and she rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Doesn't _anyone_ around here use the door like a normal person?!" She cried.

He cowered a little at her reaction. "I'm sorry, Sakura, I was expecting Tsunade, that's all. And when I saw that glorious ass poking out of the closet in the exact same yukata Tsunade usually wears I thought-"

"-I understand, it's quite alright, Jiraiya-sama." She interrupted, wanting to quickly cut off any further embarrassing appraisals of her physique. "I'm sorry for snapping at you, it's just been a long day, that's all." She finally remembered her manners.

"So, where is the old dragon anyway? I hardly ever see her out of this place anymore, I was beginning to think she was riveted to the floor."

"In Suna, on official Hokage business, she said she should only be a couple of days."

"Hah! That means a week at least, kid. Better get comfortable."

Sakura's face fell, and he felt a bit guilty for crushing any illusions she had that her ordeal would be over and done with quickly. "Hey, don't worry about it. I might be wrong. Maybe she's changed. What would an old coot like me know anyway?"

Somehow that didn't cheer Sakura up very much. If anyone knew Tsunade it was Jiraiya. They had known each other their whole lives after all. And that was a _long_ time.

Jiraiya saw she was not convinced and he decided a change of subject was in order.

He eyed the bottle she was clasping appraisingly. "A woman after my own heart!" He grinned broadly at her as he placed his hand on her shoulder and began directing her back towards Tsunade's desk.

"Well, since I came here to get drunk with Tsunade, and the old battleaxe isn't even here, what do you say you join me for a drink?" He stood in front of the desk picking up random scrolls and scanning them over before tossing them back and picking up another one as he spoke. "We can go somewhere quiet where we can just talk and drink. Nowhere rowdy, I promise."

Sakura looked him over. She had always liked Jiraiya. Even though all anyone ever said about him was that he was Konoha's biggest pervert, and Naruto's own nickname for him was 'The Pervy Sage' she knew that he was really harmless. In all of her past experiences with him she had realised that he was like a gentle giant. He was such a big, strong, imposing man, yet he wouldn't hurt a fly unless said fly threatened something or someone that he held dear. He was quite like Naruto really, and she could see why Naruto and his ex-sensei had gotten on so well.

She considered his invitation. Why not? She really needed a drink, and if she turned him down all she was going to do was go home and drink on her own anyway, and how sad was that? At least this way she would have some company, and it might be nice to sit quietly and converse with someone new for a change who wasn't just looking to get into her panties.

She saw him look back at her sideways over his shoulder as he waited patiently for her response.

She made up her mind.

"Sure, why not?"

He dropped the scroll he was currently holding and turned to face her grinning like a little boy at Christmas.

"I'm afraid I might not be as good a drinking buddy as Tsunade, however." She informed him pre-emptively, not wanting to disappoint him later.

He held out his hand indicating to the bottle of wine she was holding. She passed it to him and he tucked it into the giant scroll on his back as they both turned and made their way toward the open window. "Well, just between you and me, the truth is I don't drink all that much either. I just pretend to keep up with her till she gets so drunk she doesn't even notice that I'm way behind her." He winked at her as he stepped up onto the window ledge and stood there with his back pressed hard against the side.

She giggled at his admission, and he leaned forward and offered her his hand to help her up onto the ledge.

She blushed as she slipped her dainty hand into his large warm one and he assisted her up. She wasn't used to such decorousness and propriety, especially as a kunoichi. Men tended to treat them as one of the boys, for fear of offending them, but she found it was rather nice to be treated like a lady for once.

He followed her through the window shutting it behind him, and they both leapt from ledge to ledge as they made their way to the ground at the base of the great tower. Jiraiya was first to reach the bottom and seconds later Sakura dropped silently and gracefully next to him.

She glanced up at him as he beamed his big cheeky grin down at her, then he raised his large elbow to his side regally holding it out for her to slip her hand through.

Again she blushed at his decorum.

She shyly slipped her hand into the crook of his elbow and they proceeded down the lamp-lit street towards the busier night region of Konoha. She was glad it was relatively dark because she felt like she had a silly grin plastered on her face.

He felt so warm next to her, and even though she didn't know him all that well she felt very comfortable in his presence. Her heart was beating a little faster again and she felt the thrill of doing something new and exciting. She had almost forgotten what that felt like.

She didn't think she would need much alcohol, she already felt giddy. She smiled into the rapidly cooling Konoha air against her face as she felt the building excitement of the unknown, approaching in the night to come.

**End of Part One**

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**A/N: Well I know there wasn't much JiraSaku in this first part, but I felt like this was the best place to end it, also part 2 will be entirely JiraSaku anyway, and I needed all the build up to make it more realistic when I get to the lemon!!**

**So I hope you are enjoying it so far, and if you are or even if you aren't please review, as I said I would really like to hear any and all opinions of how you think I am going with this fic. Part two shouldn't be far away!!**


	2. Concerning Sex, Drugs & Violence

**WARNINGS: If it wasn't obvious from the title: A little violence, a little mild drug use, and a little bit of lime . . . ;)**

**M for Mature (Consider yourself warned XD )**

* * *

**PART TWO**

**Concerning Sex, Drugs & Violence towards stalkers**

Sakura sat alone in a corner booth of the cosy bar they had found and tried desperately to will her nerves to settle.

Well, that was easier said than done.

After walking the street for a very short period of time they had come across a busy but also fairly quiet bar a good block away from the rambunctious town centre, where she knew that at that very moment a rowdy blond-haired shinobi would be entertaining the masses. She was infinitely happy that Jiraiya seemed to have known exactly where they were headed, and had tactfully avoided the area where her friends were most likely to be. She didn't think she could cope with explaining to anyone right now why she happened to be wandering the streets at night with possibly the horniest cradle-snatching pervert in the history of Konoha.

She sighed. People were so quick to judge. She looked up over the booths of people chattering and drinking merrily, and as she looked towards the bar and the few people who were milling around waiting to be served parted momentarily, standing there patiently was the man in question.

She felt a strange sensation pass through her as she looked at him. He was facing the bar, and all she could see was his back, but that was enough. His strong broad shoulders sent primitive signals to her brain, and as a medic she could feel elemental forces at work attracting her to this man like pheromones to an insect. She watched as he shifted his pose to lean against the bar counter, and as he moved she could see the outline of his muscles as they rippled across his taut back beneath his thin white cotton shirt.

She had to admit to herself, she had always been fascinated by this man.

Whether it was his legendary status in Shinobi history, or the way that Naruto feigned contempt for him in one breath while excitedly reminiscing their numerous adventures together in the next, or the fact that he was the only man Sakura had ever seen Tsunade truly let her guard down around, she wasn't sure - but she had always been overcome by a reverent sense of awe in his presence.

He turned around briefly to face the room behind him then, and to Sakura's mortification caught her eyeing him from their booth. He responded however, only with an over-confident wink and a knee quiveringly handsome, tooth-flashing smile, before turning back to the bar as their drinks were poured in front of him, leaving Sakura to shrink into the seat flushing with embarrassment at being caught perving.

He turned from the bar a few moments later and made his way back towards her, deftly balancing a suspiciously large bottle of sake and two pre-poured glasses in his hands, one filled with a clear liquid she could only presume originated from said bottle, and the other a darker tea-like colour. He took his seat across from her passing the latter to her as he did so, and she thought she detected the tiniest hint of a mysterious smile on his lips.

The smile lingered at his mouth as he sat before her, watching her take the first dainty sip through the ebony straw that jutted out. The drink was sweet and a little fruity. Sakura had no idea what it was but it was exactly the type of drink she liked.

"So . . ." he began cheerfully, "Am I right to presume from the reception I got at the tower that things aren't going quite so well as substitute Hokage?"

Sakura flushed again with embarrassment at her previous behaviour. "I'm so terribly sorry, Jiraiya-Sama, I never meant to address you so harshly. I'm deeply apologetic for my behaviour and-"

"-Don't be silly," he interrupted her admonishingly. "I've been treated much worse in that very office many times before, believe you me, Sakura."

He smiled again warmly at her, and for some reason her insides tingled at the sound of her name on his lips.

"Besides, I probably deserved it for grabbing an unknown woman's behind." He lifted his drink to his lips to take a large swig as he muttered to himself, "You'd think I would have learned that by now."

Having consumed the entire glassful in one go, he lowered the glass back to the tabletop, and lifted the sake bottle to pour another. Sakura quickly found the straw again and began to gulp her own drink in an effort to keep up.

This time though, he held his full glass for a moment as he regarded her. "My sources tell me you spend far too much time at that hospital anyway, and far too little time having fun and enjoying yourself." He winked and smiled at her again as it dawned on her just who his 'sources' were.

Naruto.

Her eye twitched at the thought that he was spreading tales of her social ineptitude far and wide.

The Toad Sage however carried on without a pause. "What is it that green-clad horror Gai is always saying? To enjoy the beauty of youth?"

Distracted with thoughts of strangling her loud-mouthed friend, Sakura found herself responding without missing a beat. "I'm sure that you are enjoying the 'beauty of youth' enough for the both us Ero-sa-"

She suddenly clapped her hand over her mouth as she realised what she had said.

Jiraiya however stared at her for only a moment before throwing his head back with raucous laughter.

"Now that's more like it! There's nothing I enjoy better than a woman with a sharp tongue! Keep going like that and you'll be giving Tsunade a run for her money."

Sakura smiled shyly at him, feeling herself beginning to relax under the effects of both her strong drink and his carefree attitude.

"No, I'm afraid you're right my girl," he continued, "I certainly can't be accused of not taking the time to enjoy the . . . finer . . . things in life, that's for sure."

She smiled at his cavalier attitude towards his 'indulgences'.

"Unfortunately I wouldn't know much about such things." She hung her head a little sadly. "Lately I seem to have no time for any fun at all. It's been hard enough with the long shifts I've been working at the hospital . . . but I really had no idea substituting for Tsunade was going to be this hectic! I really don't know how she does it, Jiraiya-sama. I mean, I'm her apprentice for kami's sake and I know for a fact she spends most of her day skiving off, yet here I am working my butt off all day long and I've barely managed to make a dent." She sighed with frustration.

Jiraiya leaned back in his seat and studied her amusedly, as if trying to decide whether he could trust her with something. After a moment's hesitation he leaned back in and lowered his voice conspiratorially.

"All right, Sakura. Now, I'm telling you this because you seem to be having a hard time, and also," he looked at her pointedly, "Because I trust that you won't dob me in when the dragon gets back."

Sakura stifled a giggle at his nickname for her feisty shishou.

His voice lowered to almost a whisper. "In the left hand top drawer of the Hokage desk, there's a secret compartment at the very back corner-"

"-But, Jiraiya-sama," Sakura interrupted him. "I've cleaned that very drawer out _hundreds_ of times. I would know if there was any kind of secret compartment."

"There's a genjutsu cast over it. Use the release command and a sliding panel will be revealed." He eyed her pointedly again as if emphasising that this was a secret between the two of them before continuing. "Inside you'll find Tsunade's secret stash."

Sakura leaned forward and listened much more avidly now. "Secret stash of _what_?"

"Pills."

Sakura frowned at him, clearly not understanding. "Pills?"

"Yes. Pills. Ordinary synthetic pills that have been infused with different chakra-manipulating jutsu. Relaxants, stimulants, sleeping pills, uppers, downers. Anything you could possibly want. A secret stash to get her through each day."

Sakura gaped at him now, mouth open with absolute shock. "Do you mean to tell me that the Godaime of Konoha is running this village, _under the influence!"_

"Shh!" Jiraiya quickly pressed a finger to his lips and looked around to make sure nobody was eavesdropping. "Sakura," his tone changed to as if he were explaining something very obvious. "You already knew as well as I did that she was 'under the influence'. I don't think I've seen her sober for more than a few hours since we were fifteen."

Sakura still sat with an incredulous look on her face. She hissed under her breath, "My teacher, my shishou, all this time, was a _junkie_?!"

Jiraiya's mouth curled up in amusement at her naivety. "Look, all I'm saying is, maybe you should check it out. Pop a stimulant, a green pill, tomorrow before you start work. With the way you work under normal circumstances I bet you'll have the whole day's work finished by lunchtime."

Sakura leaned back in her chair frowning. This was a lot to take in. She had to admit, she had wondered time and again how such a lazy woman could run a busy schedule like the Hokage's, and her own day as sub-Hokage had just reiterated her doubt. Now it was glaringly obvious how she did it. And as loathe as Sakura was to admit it, perhaps the job _was_ simply impossible without it. Still, one as sensible as her was hesitant to use such a tool until it was absolutely necessary...

She looked up at Jiraiya with a small smile of appreciation. "Thank you for telling me, Jiraiya-sama. I'll . . . consider it."

"Please, Sakura," He smiled back at her as she drained the last of her drink, "If we're going to be drinking together I insist on you calling me Jiraiya."

"Ok . . . Jiraiya." She blushed slightly at addressing him so familiarly as he turned his head to scout out a waitress for a refill. A raise of his hand and a nod of his head and a gesture towards Sakura's empty glass was all that was needed before a young drinks-server rushed to the bar to accommodate him.

The night progressed quickly as they both began to settle into one another's company. With every drink that Sakura drained another appeared miraculously before her, and with each new glass a rosy glow began to spread over her, and her inhibitions slid steadily out the door. Likewise, the feeling of comfort she found in his presence soon had her speaking as naturally and freely as she would if she were with Naruto or Kakashi. Perhaps even more. It almost felt easier to speak to him _because_ he was a relative stranger to her. He didn't know the intimacies of every detail of her childhood and adolescence like Naruto, nor her every flaw and failing and weakness like Kakashi.

His face was so open and easy to read. There was a mysterious and cheeky twinkle to his eye that Sakura found most endearing. It made her feel as though she could talk to him about anything and he wouldn't judge her like some of her other friends would.

Not to mention, he _was_ strikingly handsome. Whenever he was talking she found herself studying the strong contours of his jaw, the short, silver stubble that graced his chin, and the muscles that moved high in his cheeks as he spoke. His nose was small and angular, and it complimented the rest of his features perfectly. His eyes were not narrow and cold and calculating, like Sasuke's had been, nor were they large and mischievous like Naruto's; they were small and intelligent, like a hawk's, yet also warm and friendly, enhanced by the fine lines which crinkled at the corners when he smiled.

And Sakura had no idea why, but the red marks which ran from his bottom lids all the way almost to his jaw line reminded her of tears, and bizarrely made him appear like a lost little boy, in desperate need of a cuddle.

Sakura could easily see why he was a hit with the ladies.

He drained the last of his second bottle of sake into his glass, leaving it barely half full. He sighed at the inconvenience and searched the bar yet again for their waitress.

"So I have to admit," he began, finally catching someone's eye and gesturing again before turning back to face her, "Naruto talks a hell of a lot about you, but he never seems to mention anything about your love-life." He spoke casually, but the look in his eye told her he was fishing for something. "Is there . . . someone special? Or are there many?"

She flushed slightly and looked away to study the wall. "Actually . . . there's nobody."

"Nobody?" Jiraiya blinked at her. "You mean, nobody special?"

"Nope. Just . . . nobody." Sakura's heart beat a little faster. She should have known the topic would eventually come to this. She hated having to explain her rapidly progressing _spinsterhood_ to anyone.

He stared at her, quite literally shocked.

"Has there _ever_ been anyone?"

"No. Well, I mean, of course there _have_ been a few guys," She lowered her voice to almost a whisper, "I'm not a _virgin_ if that's what you mean."

She blushed furiously at the admission but her volume returned to normal. "But if you're asking if I've ever been in a relationship, or if I've ever loved anyone like that, well then, no. I mean, I'm not sure whether I really loved Sasuke or not . . . but either way, he's gone now." She finished quietly and her eyes dropped to her lap.

Jiraiya pondered the girl before him for a moment. There could only be one reason why a girl as attractive and intelligent as she was hadn't been in love even once.

She had been burned before, and badly by the looks of it. He knew all about her infatuation with the Uchiha kid, and how he had torn her heart out time and again with his betrayal and rejection. Naruto had spent many a lengthy mission raving about all forms of the Sharingan user's betrayals in a rage to his helpless sensei. But Jiraiya felt sure that all her bitterness over that particular matter had been buried along with the Uchiha's lifeless body, and he sensed that this was not the issue that was holding her back.

No, it was something else. She seemed detached from the world of love somehow, and he felt as if the subject invoked a deep sense of disappointment in her. Perhaps she was unfulfilled by her previous encounters, and so allowed little time to be wasted on new ones?

Whatever it was, it was obvious that it made her uncomfortable, as she was fidgeting in her chair as if she desperately wanted to change the subject.

Jiraiya sighed inwardly. If only more young men would follow Kakashi's lead and read his Icha Icha series there would be far more Casanova's in this village and far less incompetent imbeciles.

When he didn't press Sakura further about the dreaded subject of love, she relaxed, and the two fell into a moment of comfortable silence as they continued with their respective drinks.

The bar was now abuzz around them. Drinks waitresses flitted from table to table bringing strange and exotic looking concoctions to strange and exotic looking patrons. The noise level in the bar had inevitably gone from a subdued hum to an excited babble, and the air felt thick with the heat of many bodies crowded into one place. Likewise the music had gained volume, and rather than catchy ballads and solid gold favourites, it now consisted mostly of the pounding rhythmic kind that made you want to get up and dance.

Just then the heavy door to the street was swung open, and the intrusive noises of a group of rowdy, heavily intoxicated males flooded the previously fairly civilized bar.

Sakura groaned inwardly as she recognised the scruffy brunette who led the group inside.

_Not him._

Hinote Matsuo was currently the bane of Sakura's existence.

If there was one person she would have given _anything_ to avoid this evening, it was him.

Her mind was suddenly drawn back to a night a few months ago, a night very similar to this in that she had been working an exhausting full day at the hospital . . . except that on that particular night Naruto, with the help of her best-girlfriend/arch-nemesis Ino, _had_ managed to coax her out to the clubs with them.

After finding a seat with both loudmouth blondes and ordering drinks, she had finally begun to relax – only to find herself suddenly seated solo and watching her two best friends bumping and grinding on the dance floor with anyone who came within a one metre radius.

And so, inevitably, she had ordered another drink along with five of the strongest shots on the menu – and proceeded to down them in quick procession until she no longer felt _completely_ out of place.

It didn't take long before the invitations started. Every fifteen minutes or so yet another young man would edge over to stand casually in her vicinity, fidgeting and eyeing her nervously until they finally plucked up the courage to ask her to dance. And every time she would politely, but firmly, decline.

It wasn't until the effects of the mind-boggling amount of alcohol she had consumed began to take its toll on her unusually high tolerance levels that she began to waver. And, fortunately for him, one young man had held off on approaching her long enough to reap the rewards.

He had started in pretty much the same fashion as all the rest, introducing himself and offering to buy her another drink before persistently trying to ply her into joining him in a dance. He seemed nice enough to her – obviously on form that evening – and he was also pretty cute; his shaggy, mousy brown hair and friendly hazel eyes had a natural appeal, and with the blood in her veins pulsing with the relaxing effects of the alcohol she surprised even herself by accepting his offer.

Things, of course, had gone pretty typically from then on. They danced. His hands began to wander. She offered little resistance. They drank some more. They danced some more. He kissed her. The fire in her belly began to burn . . . and then before she knew it she was tugging him out the door looking for the nearest inn that was comfortable and acceptable.

And that's when it started to go all wrong.

He was terrible. His fingers were too cold and too rough; his sloppy kisses threatened to swallow her; and if it wasn't bad enough that he tasted of bitter alcohol and old tobacco, once or twice she even found herself with a whole mouthful of his saliva. He couldn't find the rubber he insisted he had brought along, and when he finally did he fumbled like a virgin trying to put it on. Slim to nil time was spent on preparing her for the moment he finally thrust himself selfishly inside her, and to top it all off the discomfort she felt as he pounded into her unprepared body was overshadowed only by the pain of his calloused fingers twisting her tender nipples as roughly as if they were bolts in a sheet of iron. This at least was explained later when she discovered he was a mechanic of some description.

Thankfully the entire ordeal lasted only a few minutes before he collapsed on top of her and fell soundly asleep.

After dragging herself out from under him and walking home extremely disgruntled she had consoled herself with the fact that at least it was over and she could now put it all behind her.

That was, until he had shown up at her apartment the following evening with flowers in hand and an invitation to dinner.

Not one to purposefully reject and hurt people, she had thought seriously about moving to another country before finally accepting his offer, justifying it to herself by conceding that perhaps they had both just been far too drunk, and maybe it would be much better sober.

It was worse.

And so she had been spending the last few months heartily trying to avoid him, despite the cards and flowers, and poems, and phone calls, and 'coincidental' meeting, and general stalker-type behaviour that he had been displaying ever since.

To further rub salt in the wound she had also discovered he was not the 'nice' guy he made out to be, after word had reached her that their two-night tryst had been spread all over Konoha, leaving Sakura wondering if she had even been there as the story had altered so much from reality. That day Sakura had learned that having a friend with one ear riding first-class on the gossip train of Konoha could be surprisingly helpful.

Naturally, as previously stated, Hinote was the _last_ person she wanted to see this evening.

She shrunk down further into her seat wishing with all her heart for him not to notice her.

It was a little hard to hide hair like hers though.

Within moments he had spotted her, and after a muttering smirk to his friends the group followed his slightly wobbly stride down the aisle to stand right in front of the booth she and Jiraiya were currently occupying.

Completely ignoring the Toad Sage opposite her, he smiled at her, and she could see now the glazed over look in his eyes.

"Heyyy, babe . . ." he slurred at her, clearly already under the influence of too much sake. "I havn seen you in sooolong . . ."

He leaned forward to kiss her mouth and her face screwed up in disgust as she smelled the sickly stink of too much booze all over him. She quickly turned her face and pulled back so that all he could do was graze his lips on her cheek.

Undeterred as always by her obvious rejection, he suddenly darted into the booth seat next to her, forcing her to scoot across to maintain her distance.

He laid his arm across the top of the seat, not quite daring to put it fully around her shoulders.

He leaned in towards her again. "So, yur finally out of thad stuffy hospidal . . ." he slurred.

"An rumour has it you havn been with anyone else sinz I rocked yur world . . ." He smirked lecherously at her and the goons behind him sniggered.

Sakura's blood began to boil. Next time she saw Naruto, he was a dead man.

Hinote carried on however, completely ignorant of the dangerous twitch in her eye.

"So wadder you doin later? Hows aboud anotha taste of whad we had lastime . . ." He reached out then to grasp her breast, his alcohol fuddled brain not registering the fact that he was currently treading _very_ dangerous ground amid two of the most elite shinobi in the history of Konoha. His peons meanwhile encouraged him loudly with lewd noises and gestures.

Sakura was ready for him though. The second that his hand had left his side she was moving, and before the fool knew what had hit him, they both were up and out of the booth and standing in the aisle, she behind him, and he with his arm twisted dangerously close to breaking behind his back.

He screamed out in pain, and half the bar suddenly silenced and turned to watch the scene.

Sakura had finally had enough of this. She had allowed this bizarre thing with him to go on for far too long as it was. She had begun to realise that this was the type of man who she would have to be painfully blunt with if she ever hoped to be left alone, even if it meant going against her usually nice nature. And the combination of the alcohol and the company this evening had given her a wonderful sense of courage.

She leaned in to speak into his ear. Her tone was low and laced with poison.

"I don't know how many times I need to make up excuses before you finally get it through that thick skull of yours that I'm not interested in you." She twisted his arm towards her tighter to make her point, and felt a glorious sense of power when she heard him whimper pitifully.

"Now . . . I've tried to be nice, and to let you down gently, but since you refuse to leave me alone it seems I'm going to have to be brutally honest with you."

She lowered her voice to a deceptively seductive whisper.

But her words were dripping with venom.

"The sex we had, was quite possibly the worst sex I've ever had in my life. I am _not_, nor will _ever_ be interested in a disgusting little scumbag like you."

His friends were stood back in a safe semi-circle now, staring open-mouthed at their friend in shock, but none were brave enough to defend him from this poison-tongued vixen. Jiraiya, likewise was staring at her as well. But his eyes showed intrigue, and his lips threatened to curl up in amusement.

She still held her firm grip on Hinote's arm. "Now, are you going to leave me be from now on? Or do I need to tear your arm off to make sure you don't come knocking at my door ever again?"

Hinote, tears of agony threatening to spill from his eyes, could do little more than nod emphatically.

Sakura, enjoying prolonging his pain to make up for the torture he had inflicted on her, twisted again for good measure. "What was that? I couldn't hear you."

"Yes!!" he cried out, "I'm sorry! Please, just let me go!"

Satisfied, slowly Sakura released his arm from her vice-like grip. He twisted out and away from her into the protection of his friends as swiftly as a freed rabbit, holding his arm to his chest protectively.

"Now get out of my sight." She sighed.

The group turned and began to head hurriedly for the door, and Sakura felt a weight lift off of her shoulders that she had at least managed to allay one of her troubles this evening.

But as the group began to depart, and the bar still hung in a relative quiet as the other patrons watched the display before them, the sound of Hinote's mumbling voice reached Sakura's ears once more.

"I dun know why I waysded my time with a slut like her anyway . . ."

The bar went deadly silent.

Sakura froze.

Slowly she turned back towards the departing group. Her hand began to curl into a ball ready to punch a hole in the back of Hinote's head the size of a melon. But just as she drew her fist back ready to let loose on the unsuspecting Matsuo boy, it was Jiraiya who suddenly appeared in front of her and stilled her hand in its flight.

He looked at her before glancing back at the still retreating Hinote and his lackeys making their way to the bar's front door.

"May I?" He asked, without the need for further elaboration.

Still speechless with her anger, Sakura just nodded imperceptively.

In the flash of a nano-second, Jiraiya had moved from his position in front of Sakura and reappeared in front of the startled Hinote.

A cry of intense pain was the only indication of what happened next.

If you had blinked you would not have seen it, for no sooner had Jiraiya appeared before him than Hinote was now dangling a full foot from the ground, limbs flailing mindlessly in his agony and a horrific noise tearing out of his throat. A gasp and cringe broke out across the faces of the crowd then, the victim's friends included, and everyone seemed to be staring in wide-eyed horror at the source of the boy's agony.

It took Sakura a moment to realise what that was.

Jiraiya was holding the man up by his balls.

Sakura clasped her hand over her mouth in surprise as Jiraiya continued to hold the man in the air by his pride and glory as he scratched uselessly at the Toad Sage's arms, but her eyes revealed her mirth as Hinote finally got his long-awaited comeuppance.

Jiraiya however looked fit to kill.

"I presume," he began, "if you ever want to have children, that you would like to keep these pitiful things intact, so I will tell you this only once."

He spoke with the calm and patience of a man who had lived through war and the deadliness of one who had fought in it.

"If you _ever_ have the privilege of obtaining the company of a woman even half as beautiful, intelligent and kind as Sakura again," he squeezed a little tighter and a very girly squeal escaped Hinote's lips, "you will treat her as a gentleman should, with the respect and adoration that she deserves."

Sweat was pouring down Hinote's face now and he had begun to turn a little blue.

Jiraiya's voice lowered dangerously.

"And if I _ever_ find out otherwise, I will tear these tiny excuses of manhood from your body and shove them down your throat."

* * *

Sakura sipped her freshly poured drink as she waited for Jiraiya to return from the bathroom.

The bar had returned to its normal pace now after the quiet if crippled exit of Hinote and his gang, and the lights and sounds of revelry combined with her elated sense of victory had Sakura glowing with happiness.

Jiraiya's reaction had surprised her a little.

She had known that he was a man who loved the ladies - who didn't – but she had always presumed that it was merely for his own gratification. But the dressing down he had given poor Hinote had been so impassioned that she now truly believed that he held a deep respect for women, and that perhaps his interest in the fairer sex was really genuine worship.

The amount of experience that he must have had with women, and love, and sex was a little daunting for Sakura. Here she was, twenty two years of age and she had little to no understanding of the supposed 'wonders' of sex that her friends had so avidly told her about. And with the awful experiences she had been subjected to so far she wasn't sure she even _wanted_ to get back out there and try again. She had fallen off her horse big time, and now she wasn't sure she she would be able to get back up.

It was all just too complicated. Had she had the confidence of Ino she might have been bold enough to ask Jiraiya what the secret to it all was. The man had so much more knowledge about such things than her, she actually almost felt a little jealous of his skill and natural abilities in the area.

Then again, maybe she was going about this the wrong way.

Why should she have to _ask_ Jiraiya for help . . . when he could simply _show_ her what great sex was all about?

Sakura's nerves rattled with excitement as it dawned on her that the answer to her problem lay glaringly obvious before her.

Jiraiya was quite probably the most experienced man in all of Konoha. If anyone could show her what she was missing out on it was him. He had written an entire series of bestselling books on the subject for goodness sake, and Sakura had to admit, the few times she had managed to get away with sneaking a peak over Kakashi's shoulder as he was reading one of his beloved little orange bibles she had found herself rather flustered at the explicit detail she had seen there.

Yes, there was a universal truth that Sakura knew all too well in her line of work. When you find yourself at loss, it was time to consult a specialist.

She looked up as the man in question returned just then, and smiling at her took his seat back across the booth.

Taking a big swig of her drink, Sakura steeled her courage, and prepared to seduce Konoha's number one pervert.

* * *

Jiraiya sat up straighter in his chair and his eyes widened slightly as he felt a soft toe brush against his calf.

His pulse quickened at the unexpected contact, and he looked up at the beautiful young woman before him, trying to discern whether or not she had noticed it also.

It was very difficult to tell, however, as Sakura was currently absorbed with draining the last of her drink from her glass, her head down and pale pink bangs obscuring most of her face as she diligently drew the tea coloured liquid up through the straw perched between her soft full lips.

He found himself fixated on those lips, pouted perfectly around the black straw contrasting strongly with their velvet cerise shade, glistening intoxicatingly with the remnants of the alcohol she now licked from them. He felt his body shudder involuntarily as he saw the tiniest flash of a pink tongue flitting out between those lips, and he licked his own on pure reflex.

She showed no sign that she had been aware of their contact beneath the table, and he began to feel that he had either imagined it, or it had been an accident and not something to dwell on. He decided to feign ignorance. Feeling slightly uncomfortable with the silence now, he tried to pick up where they left off.

"Well, that was a bit of excitement." He ground out, his voice holding a hint of contempt. "I can't stand punks like that. Treating a beautiful woman like nothing more than an object . . . they should be ashamed of themselves! But, I must admit they help me with my research for Icha-"

He cut off abruptly as he felt a warm foot graze against his inner thigh.

"-Icha villains though," he finished, his voice now decidedly raspier than before.

He cleared his throat, then risked a look up at the perpetrator sitting primly opposite him.

His silver-white eyebrows knitted together slightly in confusion as he saw that she had turned away from him and was now looking across the other side of the room, and he noted the faint blush of her cheeks. He could see she was purposely trying to avoid eye contact with him, and he now knew for sure that she had felt _that_.

The only question was, was it accidental, or intentional?

His mind raced as he considered the possibility of the latter.

Could it be possible? Could it really be possible that this beautiful young swan before him was making a pass at him?

Of course he was no stranger to the ladies, and had certainly been with women even younger than Sakura before. But those women had usually been simple village girls, girls to whom a powerful shinobi like him with a few Ryo to spend on them was like a god. Those women were easy prey to him, like wolves to the slaughter, it was so simple.

But Sakura was different. She was herself a formidable kunoichi with powers that now almost rivalled her shishou's, one of the three legendary Sannin. When he thought about it, that essentially meant that her powers were almost on par with his own, and she was certainly a damn sight more frightening than he, another trait she had picked up off her mistress.

These factors combined with her extraordinary and unmatched beauty made her a much more exquisite prize. She was a jewel meant only for the elite. She was like the finest caviar, while all the other numerous women he had been with in comparison were like fish paste.

And now, his heart leapt and his thoughts were a jumble as he tried desperately to determine if this ethereal beauty was just a naïve young flower who had accidentally put a foot astray, or a sultry seductress trying to lure a susceptible old ninja who wouldn't stand a chance?

His rational mind prayed that it was the former.

But his heart screamed out for the latter.

And if there was one thing that everyone knew, it was that Jiraiya was 95 percent heart.

* * *

Sakura bit the inside of her lip as her heart raced wildly in her chest.

For a fleeting second, she had wondered if she could go ahead with it. But the warmth of the alcohol flowing through her body had washed away her inhibitions, and for once in her life she felt truly free.

She decided to take a chance.

At first she wasn't sure if he had felt it when she had casually rubbed her big toe against his strong calf muscle under the table. But when she tried it a second time, this time moving her foot up to stroke his powerful thigh, and he had stopped in the middle of his sentence, she knew she had been caught.

Her breath stuck in her throat as the seconds ticked by.

He thought she was looking away from him, but truthfully she had been gauging his reaction using her peripheral vision. She saw him swallow as he mentally digested what was occurring between them.

For a panic-stricken moment, she had the irrational thought that he was going to reject her. He would think that she was a fool. He would say that she must have gotten the wrong idea, that he could _never_ consider her in that way. He would try to let her down gently of course, but it still wouldn't make it hurt any less.

Then she saw him relax again, and the relief washed over her as she realised he was going to pretend he hadn't felt it. Still using her peripherals, she saw him shake his head in a self-assuring manner, then he cleared his throat again, and raised his face to her to speak.

"Shall we have another drink? I could definitely go another round, and besides, I feel the night is still young."

She raised a slender eyebrow almost imperceptively, as she pondered if there was hidden meaning in his words. She looked back at him finally, then nodded politely with a tight-lipped smile, too consumed with her shaky nerves to speak right now.

He raised his eyebrows to a waitress as she passed near their table and gestured with his hand for her to bring another round.

Emboldened by his nonchalance, and the alcohol now tingling through her veins, Sakura made up her mind to go one step further. She had already made her intentions known and there was no going back now.

She turned away from him again and pretended to be scouring the room, her chin raised up on the back of her hand.

Slowly she raised her foot a third time. With the skill of an elite, she masterfully manoeuvred her small foot between his parted thighs, and hovered it just between their juncture.

With one final breath of courage, she pressed forward, and experimentally rolled the ball of her foot over the warm smooth bulge of his manhood.

She wasn't aware that she had instinctively clenched her eyes closed until she heard him gasp loudly, and she had to forcefully pry them open again.

She slowly turned to look at him shyly, her heart feeling like it would explode in her chest.

He was staring at her, his eyes huge with the absolute shock that was written across his entire face.

Her heart sank.

Her stomach turned and she felt like she was going to be sick, as she determined that he was indeed going to reject her. She was a stupid woman. Why did she even think that she could have a chance with the great Toad Sage? He must have hundreds of beautiful women literally throwing themselves at him daily. What on earth made her think that he would be interested in a nobody like her?

Feeling like a ton of bricks had just collapsed in her chest, she embarrassedly began to pull her foot away from its warm new home, drawing it back towards her slowly, and preparing herself to make a mad dash for the door and run all the way home were she could morbidly cry herself to sleep.

However, the sharp slap of a hand grasping her ankle swiftly stopped her retreat.

This time it was her turn to gape wide-eyed across the table, as she felt him draw her foot back to where it had been, then she also, gasped, as he confidently pulled her foot flush against him again.

No words were spoken. None were needed. The now hungry look in his eyes told her everything she needed to know, and she quickly deduced that she had been _very_ wrong in her analysis of the situation.

And if the now much more prominent than before bulge was any indication, he definitely wanted her.

_Very_ badly.

Her heart pounded emphatically in her ears now, and her head swam with giddiness as she slowly resumed the gentle roll of her toes against him. His eyes slid closed and his mouth dropped open slightly, and as her strokes became more emboldened the fingers of his hand which held her foot in place began to caress the inside of her ankle. She felt almost dizzy, as if she were in a dream, and as much as she could put half of the feeling down to the alcohol currently warming her blood, the rest was certainly just plain excitement and disbelief.

_What the hell was she doing?_ She was Sakura Haruno, well reputed as one of the primmest, most prudent, and sensible kunoichi in Konoha, commonly referred to by other male shinobi (when they thought she was out of hearing range, of course) as what was known as a 'cocktease', and here she was behaving like a common harlot and currently seducing a superior. Not to mention massaging his manhood with her bare foot in a public bar. Not just any superior either, but one who just happened to be one of the legendary and feared elite Sannin, and also her shishou's closest friend and former team-mate to boot.

As much as she tried to keep a smooth face to disguise the uncertainty and anxiety she was beginning to feel, her eyes darted from side to side like a frightened rabbit, as she worriedly tried to ascertain that nobody was witness to their sub-table intimacy.

She paused all her actions however as a small uncomfortable groan reached her ears.

_Oops_. Perhaps she had been pressing a little too hard as she had fretted over possible witnesses.

"Sakura . . ." Jiraiya's deep voice chided her gently from the other side of the booth.

Apologetically she drew her gaze back to face him.

His face was instantly comforting, soft and reassuring. It was incredible the way he could make her feel at ease with a simple glance.

"It's ok . . ." he began, in such a gentle and caring tone that it was hard to believe that this man had a lifetime of blood on his hands.

"Nobody's watching."

He reached out with his free hand and took both of her own within it, encapsulating them with his one giant paw. He began to slowly rub his thumb across her fingers.

"It's only _you_ and _me_."

He smiled at her then, the most beautiful and genuinely compassionate smile she had ever seen, and she could not help but smile back as she felt her anxiety dissolve under his influence.

Slowly . . . timidly, she lowered her eyes, and with a faint blush to her cheeks, began her ministrations again.

His eyes slid closed once more, and as she masterfully stroked her small foot against his delightfully firm body she noticed his breathing quickening, and his face began to cringe then smooth sporadically with the pleasure of her touch.

Sakura could hardly believe what was happening. Here she was with one of the great Sannin under her spell, writhing under her own ministrations, and touching her gently with mutual desire. If only Ino could see her now.

And apparently, he wanted more.

He suddenly pressed his hand down on her foot halting her actions once again. But this time there was lust burning in his eyes.

"Should we go somewhere?" He asked, before tentatively adding, "Only if you want to. We could go somewhere more private?"

She chewed her lip thoughtfully as she realised the implications of such a move. She quickly made a decision.

"All right." She nodded once. "Only . . . we can't go to my place, because the walls in my apartment block are paper thin . . ." she blushed at what she was implying. "What about . . ." She left her words hanging for him to fill in.

"I wish I could take you to my place, but I'm having my floors carpeted, and I doubt we could even find a space amongst the mess." He cringed apologetically.

They both sat in silence mulling over their options.

Suddenly Jiraiya stood up. "Come on," he began, holding out his hand for her to take.

"I've got an idea."

* * *

Sakura climbed back through the window she had exited only hours earlier, her hand in Jiraiya's as he helped her through.

She looked around at the large mostly empty Hokage's office.

Jiraiya walked over to the desk and took a seat in the comfortable chair there. He threw his feet up to rest on the desk edge and leaned back placing his hands behind his head.

"So . . . what do you think?"

She dropped her shoes she had been carrying to the floor beside her with a _thud_ and slowly a smile crept across her lips as she looked around the room thoughtfully. The thought of having sex with a man old enough to be her father inside the Hokage's very office should have scared the life out of her. And it did. But she was also the most excited she had been in a very long time. There was something so deliciously _naughty_ about it, it made Sakura shiver with anticipation just thinking about it.

She looked back over at the man in question and began to make her way over to him.

But as she got closer and could make out the look on his face clearly she could see something in his eyes that suddenly had her feeling very nervous.

She had seen that look before, not so long ago, in this very office. It was the look that she had seen briefly on Kakashi's face before her nerves got the better of her. She had not been able to identify it at the time, but now she knew exactly what it was.

Pure animalistic desire. That intrinsic masculine need, built into every male, no matter what species, that drives a man to want to want to reproduce. To want to dominate. To want to stand out from the rest. That hungry need in his eyes that told her that he wanted her, and he would not be satisfied without her.

That look excited her.

And it also absolutely terrified her.

Suddenly, Sakura felt very nervous. She began to wobble a little on her legs, and as she reached the desk where he sat she tripped on her own feet and crashed very un-seductively into the table ledge.

Jiraiya reached out to hold her steady as she leaned against it blushing furiously.

"Hey, careful there, I don't want you injuring yourself before we even get started!" he chuckled.

He quickly regretted saying anything however as although she smiled in response, he could see her lips were shaking, and she began to worry her bottom lip as her eyes darted about nervously.

"Sakura," he said as he grasped her gently by the shoulders and stood to stand in front of her, "Look, we don't have to do anything at all if you don't want to. I'm happy to just have another drink, and talk some more and have a laugh if that's what you want to do. It's entirely up to you."

Her eyes shot up to his face. "I do want to! I mean . . . _of course_ I do. I wouldn't have instigated this whole thing if I didn't." She looked down at her hands as she wrung them together restlessly. "It's just that . . . I didn't realise I would be so nervous! I thought the alcohol would have helped to calm me down, but it's just that . . ." She looked up at him tentatively. "I'm sorry . . . it's just that . . . all the other times have been so terrible! And now I just get myself worked up into such a state even thinking about it, and it's so hard to try to relax!"

She realised her nerves were causing her to babble. She put both her hands over her face and cringed into them.

Jiraiya finally caught on to what the problem was. His face relaxed and he smiled down at her. He put one of his large hands on her crown, tucking his arm around her and pulling her to his chest, gently kissing the top of her head as he did so.

Sakura dropped her hands from her face in surprise and then reached her own arms around his waist, letting him hold her there reassuringly for what seemed like forever. He felt so warm and comfortable. And safe.

Suddenly he spoke again.

"I've got an idea. But . . . you'll have to trust me."

She looked up at him curiously as he pulled away. He walked over to Tsunade's desk drawers, pulled the top drawer wide open, then held one hand up in a chakra sign, muttering under his breath as he did so.

"Release!"

She continued to watch without interrupting as his hand disappeared deep inside the back of the drawer, and he rummaged around for a bit until he found what he was after.

Pulling his fist out and then holding it before her, he opened his hand to reveal two small yellow pills sitting in his palm.

She looked from the pills back up to his face and blinked.

"What are they?"

"They're pretty much relaxants, but . . . with something a little special added."

Sakura eyed the pills suspiciously. "What kind of 'something special'?"

"It's a particular herb that the Chinese introduced us to many years ago, and we've combined it with an enhancing jutsu . . . anyway . . . it's all rather complicated. You'll just have to trust me."

She still looked dubiously from the pills to him and back again.

"_Do you_ trust me, Sakura?"

She looked him firmly in the eye at that, and after studying his face for a moment she reached forward without hesitation grabbing one pill and putting it straight into her mouth, swallowing it whole.

Jiraiya smiled and followed suit, quickly swallowing the other.

* * *

Jiraiya remained still, watching her as she stood before him, just staring back at him.

A full minute ticked by.

Sakura frowned.

"So . . . how long does it take before it starts working?"

Jiraiya just smiled back at her amusedly, as if he was privy to a secret that she wasn't.

"It's working now."

She frowned again as she focused her thoughts inward, her medic's mind trying to analyse what effect the pill was having on her system.

There was nothing.

"Can't you feel it?"

She focused again on her body's systems, checking them off on a mental list as she went. Digestive and reproductive systems . . . nervous system . . . skeletal and musculature systems all appeared normal. Cell function and neural functioning systems seemed unaffected. Cardiac functions likewise. Skins receptors seemed normal . . . however . . .

She stopped.

It suddenly occurred to her that she had been restlessly rubbing her bare toes into the surface of the rough carpet beneath them.

And something there was _very_ different.

The carpet felt _delicious_ against her skin. The combination of the soft silky wool twined into rough scratchy threads oozing between her toes as she rubbed them together, the friction causing little tingles across her skin, and the elastic buoyancy of the surface beneath her feet felt incredible. Sakura had never thought so intensely about carpet in her life but only one word could sum this up.

Wow.

**

* * *

****A/N: So I'm sorry that this has taken almost a year to get to you, but I do in fact have a very busy life outside of fan fiction, and I'm also a mere human and I do get writer's block with certain stories from time to time. I am very sorry though to those of you who have been patiently waiting for Part Two, my intention had been to make this a two part but I decided that I would post what I had so far for those of you who have been asking me if I planned on continuing this story. XD**

**I hope you enjoyed it!**

**Reviews as always are most appreciated ;)**


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